The Memory Glut of 2007

The surge in demand for DRAM memory chips has already happened, ahead of the release of Microsoft's Vista operating system. A chip glut could be ahead.

WHEN MICROSOFT STARTS SELLING CONSUMERS the Vista version of Windows at the end of the month, the software giant can look forward to a good cycle of upgrade sales. That's why the Redmond, Wash., firm's shares rose 14% last year and outgunned the typical Nasdaq stock.

Last year, memory-chip press agents told me Vista would spark a surge in demand for DRAM , the power-hungry memory chips that are a device's scratchpad. The flacks told...